Movie Review for Ice Princess

Summary: Casey is just trying to please her hard-working mom, who's got her daughter on the fast track to Harvard, when she decides to do a report on the physics of figure skating. Having fantasized on her backyard pond about becoming an Olympic champion since she was a little girl, Casey is ecstatic, and nervous, to finally have a chance to meet the elite skaters at her local rink. What she doesn't know is that her existence is about to be sent for a wild spin when it turns out that Casey's smarts have helped her become a skating prodigy. Now, as she gets the chance to train with champion-in-the-making Gen Harwood and Gen's famously tough coach and mother, Tina, Casey sets off on a fun, comedic and life-changing adventure that takes her into a world she never expected to experience. Not only does she get a crash course in the glamour, sweat and tears of skating competitions, she also gets her first taste of romance as she falls for Gen's teenage brother, the rink's hunky Zamboni driver, Teddy. As she trains with gritty determination, Casey’s confidence begins to soar--but with the big championship looming, she is about to find out if she really has what it takes to leave her old life behind and truly become an ice princess.

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Melinda Ennis of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (6/1)
            ... has a made-for-TV sensibility better suited to the Disney Channel than a Disney feature film.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            ...I was surprised how entertained I was.

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/0)
            Though formulaic, this one has dazzling exhibitions of ice skating with characters who are neithe...

By John J. Puccio of DVDTown.com (7/0)
            ...things are so routine we can guess every action a cliché in advance.

By Michael Rechtshaffen of E! Online (7/0)
            ...proves that it's still possible to teach an old formula a few new tricks.

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            All the other females around Casey know exactly what they want. And each is gently but firmly pun...

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            The only thing wrong with Ice Princess is that I am not enough of a 14-year-old girl to appreciat...

By Bill Chambers of Film Freak Central (7/0)
            It's not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but neither is it a sustenance-free aft...

By David Noh of Film Journal International (7/0)
            Rife with cliches and sentimentality.

By Jesse Hassenger of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Among chick-competition movies, Bring It On still takes the gold; Ice Princess would be lucky to ...

By Brian Orndorf of FilmJerk.com (7/0)
            An agreeable, unexpected charmer. It cannot snap cliché in two, but at least it has the desire to...

By Todd Gilchrist of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            Falls on its butt as often as it lands a perfect turn, but its perseverance ultimately pays off w...

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (7/0)
            Was the world really crying out for The Mighty Ducks meets The Princess Diaries?

By Eric Lurio of Greenwich Village Gazette (7/0)
            In short, this is a tale about the joys of disappointing your mother. Something we all can identi...

By Jackie K. Cooper of jackiekcooper.com (7/0)
            The film glides smoothly on the beauty and charm of Michelle Trachtenberg.

By Bruce Kirkland of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            The acting is at a higher level than in most teen flicks, thus giving Ice Princess the chance to ...

By Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            Although this is the kind of entertainment designed to send its audience home happy, Ice Princess...

By Sue Pierman of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            Manages to execute surprisingly well.

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Susan Granger of Modamag.com (7/0)
            Graceful and teen-empowering, proving dreams can come true

By Luke Y. Thompson of New Times (7/0)
            Though Disney's incessant promotion of Hilary Duff has made casual moviegoers run from teen-girl ...

By Jeffrey Westhoff of Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (7/0)
            Deals with a surprising number of complexities for a G-rated film. Even if doesn't address all of...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            Pre-teen girls may very well enjoy 'Ice Princess,' but as I don't belong to that particular demog...

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            ...may have a preposterous premise, but it should appeal to the same mother/daughter audience tha...

By Betty Jo Tucker of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Michelle Trachtenberg is a revelation both on and off the ice.

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Larry Ratliff of San Antonio Express-News (7/0)
            Ice Princess, though somewhat clichéd, combines the fire of passion for a dream with the frost of...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            ...a cut above most pictures of its type.

By Sean McBride of Sean the Movie Guy (7/0)
            Pity the poor father or the younger brother forced to tag along and watch this mediocre piece of ...

By Ellen A. Kim of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            ...sweet if bland...

By Emily Russin of Seattle Times (7/0)
            If you want the real deal, stay home and catch the world championships on ESPN this weekend.

By Nick Schager of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            Even for an ugly-duckling-makes-good fairy tale, Ice Princess seems to stretch believability a ta...

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            Ice Princess is carried by the subtle and shining performance of Michelle Trachtenberg.

By John Venable of Supercala.com (7/0)
            ...they do what you should as filmmakers, which is to entertain your target audience...sufficient...

By Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures (U.S.) (7/0)
            The Ice Princess is exactly the kind of film Disney made its reputation on...

By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (7/0)
            Ice Princess sticks closely to the mold of other sports flicks, but there is a tenderness and ref...

By Scott Nash of Three Movie Buffs (7/0)
            It’s not the most original of concepts I know, but Trachtenberg is so likable in the lead role, t...

By Tony Medley of tonymedley.com (7/0)
            A mildly entertaining trifle with the lousy premise that a student with high promise as a physics...

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Claudia Puig of USA Today (7/0)
            Parents and kids should be heartened to see a G-rated movie that is not dumbed-down or saccharine...

By Willie Waffle of WaffleMovies.com (7/0)
            If you need someone to take on the horror film juggernaut of The Ring Two, it might as well be Bu...

By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (7/0)
            Trachtenberg is thoroughly believable, an unspoiled charmer. Her rise from clumsy girl to someone...

By Stephen Holden of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            ...you can feel this niche-marketed tweener fantasy of athletic glory frantically trying to balan...

By Fred Topel of About.com (3/4) No reference
            Ice Princess is the Million Dollar Baby of figure skating movies. Michelle Trachtenberg makes Hil...

By Christopher Smith of Bangor Daily News (Maine) (5/2) No reference
            Pure formula, but nevertheless an enjoyable triple klutz.

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Thomas Delapa of Boulder Weekly (3/4) No reference
            Mean Girls on Ice

By Shlomo Schwartzberg of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
            While Ice Princess doesn't exactly deliver any surprises -- you can easily guess how it will end ...

By Devin Faraci of CHUD (6/1) No reference
            Ice Princess is pretty decent as a schlocky tween empowerment movie...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            Stumbles and falls every time the movie isn't on the ice. And come to think of it, it does a good...

By James Sanford of Kalamazoo Gazette (6/1) No reference
            a comedy-drama that will charm young girls and may even amuse their somewhat older chaperones.

By Ella Taylor of L.A. Weekly (3/4) No reference
            This follow-your-bliss charmer treats female achievement with such grace and seriousness, one alm...

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Evan Henerson of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) No reference
            This is a safe, edgeless cinematic after-school special.

By Jeff Strickler of Minneapolis Star Tribune (3/4) No reference
            The characters have a depth that is missing in most clichéd sports films.

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (6/1) No reference
            the nicest surprise is that after a spate of "mean girl" movies, this one gives us a character wh...

By Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Harvard President Lawrence Summers recently touched off a firestorm by speculating on why more gi...

By Kyle Smith of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            This movie wasn't just made for 11-year-old girls; it seems to have been made by 11-year-old girl...

By Lisa Rose of Newark Star-Ledger (3/4) No reference
            Take the teen makeover template, add ice, and you've got the latest piece of pandering entertainm...

                         Reviews of Ice Princess
By Gene Seymour of Newsday (3/4) No reference
            The movie carries out its generic, almost ritualized narrative with honest sentiment and engaging...

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            Wanting to skate doesn't mean Casey can't go to Harvard -- or, God forbid, defer a year or two. B...

By Susan Walker of Toronto Star (3/4) No reference
            Watching this week's world figure skating championships in Moscow, one wonders why the scriptwrit...

By Daniel M. Kimmel of Worcester Telegram & Gazette (3/4) No reference
            For young girls and their parents – oh, let’s be honest: their moms – the fact that you go in pre...

By Connie Ogle of Miami Herald (6/1) Not Reachable
            You probably could sit down right now and, were you so inclined, re-create the script to a word, ...

Movie Distributors

Production Companies
Bridget Johnson Films

Movie Studios
Walt Disney Pictures